T minus 20 and counting...

So, in 20 days we get our next ultrasound and get to see for sure that everything is okay in there. We have an appointment next week where we should get to hear the heartbeat again too.
I can't wait to see how much the Bean has changed since the first ultrasound, 5 weeks ago...by that point 8 weeks. I am sure it will be crazy, considering the rapid growth rate.
And am still waiting, none too patiently to feel the baby move. (I will feel better when I have regular reminders that everything is going okay in there.)
I am pretty excited about being in my second trimester and past the nausea crap! Now if I can shake this cold I can get some serious packing etc done. (Wish me luck)
Ciao for now~
marymontmama

Oh yeah and Bean is about the size of a large navel orange this week.

will post once a week from now on. (at least)

So, I am trying to do this from my phone;and let's face it I should probably be Amish with how much I know about technology so please be patient with me.
I am going to make sure to post at least once a week from now on. I just feel like there isn't much new to say. I am starting to show a little bit which makes me happy. I also have gotten past nausea which makes me ecstatic,,and hungry. Trying to control what choices I make. Since
I have to go into the clinic for a weight check the week after next, because they thought I was losing too much during the first trimester we shall see.
Can't wait to find out the gender so we can start calling Bean by a proper name. And so we can start picking up clothes :-).
Tiny screen is hard to handle so I
think that's all for now.
Ciao for now
~marymontama

Been lax

Sorry for being so lax in the blogging lately. A lot has been going on lately.
I have been experiencing random bouts of emotional overload. The LOML has been snapped at far more often than he deserves. I have felt more lonely than I have in years. This is strange for me, I have experienced random bouts of sadness my whole life but I have been so moved by things lately I weep openly. I was crying at an episode of Criminal Minds tonight....
So what about the Bean?
We are working on week 13, and hoping that by the week after next nausea will be a thing of the past. The Bean is the size of a peach now and soon to be just as fuzzy:).
Our next appointment is Dec. 3rd, and the next ultrasound is the 17th. (so excited to see all the work Bean has been doing in there.)
According to all of the books and sites by Christmas I should experience quickening, (as a fan of the Highlander films this cracked me up when I first heard the term) feeling the baby moving. That and there should be more surprises around that time. :)
I guess that's all for now...short and sweet, just like the Bean!
Ciao for now~
marymontmama

Knowledge is power

Today we had a breast feeding class to learn about what lactation support is available, how to get started etc...
Pretty far in advance for us, as we are 29 weeks away from our estimated date of delivery but got us both super excited. I can't wait until Bean gets here, I have been excited up til now but am so anxious to meet our new family member, it is almost ridiculous.
It's kind of all I want to talk about...but I know how annoying that would be. But I can talk to the LOML about it because he's super excited too. So we do talk about it, quite a bit.
I was pretty surprised today to discover that a lot of the other women in the class didn't plan on breast feeding. It blew my mind. And when the lactation nurse leading the class asked for reasons only one woman spoke up and said she wasn't comfortable with the idea of doing it in front of other people. The lactation nurse assured her that you can feed very discreetly and that some places have lactation stations for nursing moms. She seemed unswayed on the issue. Granted later she asked if it was going to be okay to breast feed because she was a smoker who has no intention of quitting. Luckily this was at the end of class so I could leave the room.
Okay, so for some reason you think breast feeding is "unnatural" (seriously the phrase she used) but smoking during pregnancy is definitely what nature intended?! Ugh. I mean I know we as a society have sexualized the breasts but honestly people their sole reason for being is to make milk to feed babies...what could be more natural than using them for what they are made for?
Oh well, enough of my soapbox, I have a sleep study to take part in.
Goodnight all.
Ciao for now~
marymontmama

Plum amazing!!

Okay, so the pun title may be a bit much but my little Bean is about the size of a plum at this point. 2.5 inches long and weighs about half a pound...that's like 1000 times the size they started at. Pretty cool huh? I think so.
As of tomorrow I will be 12 weeks! (already?!) almost time for second trimester which I am really hoping lives up to the hype, this nausea and lack of appetite is for the birds... At the Dr.'s appointment today I found out that I have lost 10 pounds since about 2 weeks before we found out I am pregnant. (not a major concern since I am obese and they only want me to gain 10-15lbs for the pregnancy but still)
Speaking of the Dr.'s appointment, we got to hear the heartbeat again today, and will again at our next appointment, Dec.3rd! Still the most amazing little hummingbird like noise ever!
My wonderful MIL is convinced that it is a girl because the heartbeat is 170per minute and somebody told her that a fast heart rate means a girl.(two different medical professionals have made it clear to me that this is a wives tale...) She has already started calling Bean her baby girl, and K.C., which is the nickname she has chosen for Bean if it's a girl; (her name will be Kathleen Carmella Montgomery, James and I are going to call her Kat, if it's a girl) if it's a boy, which it still could be, heartbeats per minute or not, his name will be Samuel Hugh Montgomery. Either way this kid is in for a world of love!
Ciao for now~
marymontmama

Genetic testing Yes/No

Upon reviewing the risks/benefits on these we have determined we are willing to do the quad screen (just a blood test for me) but nothing else.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this stuff let me explain:
As I am an older mom they are concerned with my chances for chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus (the older your eggs are the more degraded they can be).
Here is the chart all the sights are so keen on
 Maternal Age Related Risks

Mom's Age     Risk for trisomy 21      Risk for all trisomies
20                       1 in 1,667                        1 in 526
21                       1 in 1,429                        1 in 526
22                       1 in 1,429                        1 in 500
23                       1 in 1,429                        1 in 500
24                       1 in 1,250                        1 in 476
25                       1 in 1,250                        1 in 476
26                       1 in 1,176                        1 in 476
27                       1 in 1,111                        1 in 455
28                       1 in 1,053                        1 in 435
29                       1 in 1,000                        1 in 417
30                       1 in 952                           1 in 384
31                       1 in 909                           1 in 384
32                       1 in 769                          1 in 323
33                       1 in 625                          1 in 286
34                       1 in 500                          1 in 238
35                       1 in 385                          1 in 192
36                       1 in 294                          1 in 156
37                       1 in 227                          1 in 127
38                       1 in 175                          1 in 102
39                       1 in 137                          1 in 83
40                       1 in 106                          1 in 66
41                       1 in 82                            1 in 53
42                       1 in 64                            1 in 42
43                       1 in 50                            1 in 33
44                       1 in 38                            1 in 26
45                       1 in 30                            1 in 21
46                       1 in 23                            1 in 16
47                       1 in 18                            1 in 13
48                       1 in 14                           1 in 10
49                       1 in 11                            1 in 8

 

Now, keep in mind early screening generally focuses on Trisomy 21, more commonly known as Down's Syndrome. We aren't worried about Down's, in my experience in life extra chromosome=extra awesome. What does concern us are the other trisomies which are "incompatible with life"

The question then becomes what do you do if the initial screening comes back positive for one of the trisomies? You have options of other tests. They all do however pose a threat, however minor to the fetus. So, when you have already been informed that your pregnancy is pseudo high risk (because of your age and what can come of that fact alone) you aren't willing to take too many other chances. 

The two main tests, both of which are pretty invasive (from the Bean's perspective):

CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling): Where they take a sample from where the placenta meets the uterine wall.
This is done between the 10th and 13th week of pregnancy. (Why is that important, because it is before the major risk of miscarriage has past. And while the odds of miscarriage are only 1 in 100 but since my chances of conceiving naturally were about 52% I don't listen to odds too much) Some studies have also shown a link between CVS and babies born with missing fingerprints or toes, not a big deal but why do it if it isn't absolutely necessary?

Amniocentesis: I think most people are familiar with this one BIG freakin' needle through the abdomen (guided by ultrasound of course) to obtain amniotic fluid from the placenta. So...they have been doing this one for decades, why worry....because it is no safer today then it was 20 years ago. There is still increased risk of uterine infection, miscarriage, leaking amniotic fluid, and Rh sensitization (which may or may not be a factor for us.) And that doesn't even take into account if your little one is a squirmer, while the chances of for serious needle injury are rare they do still exist. 

So we have decided that we will not proceed beyond the quad screening which will be done at about 16-18 weeks. We are only doing that one because there is no risk to the Bean and it will put the midwife's mind at ease.

So while I understand some people's desire to know ahead of time etc...It doesn't really matter to us. Bean has so much to teach us regardless of how any test comes out, so yeah I won't risk the health of my baby or pregnancy on a test, which isn't foolproof anyway.

Ciao for now~
marymontmama

 

 

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Guest Post: SOME...ONES...GO...NNA...SEEDABABY

Hey everybody, James here, the other half of this baby making team. Anyone who knows me (or is my friend on facebook for that matter) can tell you how excited I am for this baby... for our little Bean. Today, that excitement increased a hundred fold for two simple reasons.

1. We saw the baby on the ultrasound.

Bean had its back to us, but the little blob we saw on the screen was definitely a forming baby, with a head end, a rear end, and little arm and leg buds.

2. We heard a little heartbeat.

Well, not so little. 170 beats per minute.

As I heard the sound of our baby's heartbeat for the first time, I was overwhelmed. It was suddenly more real to me. There was a baby there. A living Bean (see what I did there) that I had a part in creating. A new life that I'm going to have the privilege of helping to raise from the day it is born. First cry, first laugh, first tooth, first steps... and that's just the beginning of the list.

This is something I've known that I've wanted for a LONG time and was getting to the point where I was wondering if it was ever going to truly happen. We'd been trying for over a year less than successfully, and I was starting to resign myself to the fact that we were going to have to be the best aunt and uncle ever... which we still plan to be, but this is a different league entirely.

We are now (and have been for exactly nine weeks) responsible for the safe upbringing of a child. BEST JOB EVER. I can't wait.

-James